In August 2022 a farm worker in Wales was fatally crushed after an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) the were travelling as a passenger in overturned on a hillside.
An investigation carried out by the Health and Safety Executive found that neither the passenger or driver of the vehicle had been provided with adequate training (HSE guidance states employers must provide employees who use ATVs with adequate training and instruction on their safe use) or were wearing seat belts. The investigation also found that no routine pre-use safety checks were carried out on any of the vehicles owned by the farm. The ATVs tyres were improperly inflated, with different pressures in each tyre, which should have been rectified before the vehicle was used. The vehicle was being driven in a high gear and two-wheel drive when it should have been in a low gear and four-wheel drive. The keys to the ATV were not adequately controlled and were available to anyone who was on the farm, including those not adequately trained.
The farm owner pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £5,500 and ordered to pay £5,813 in costs at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court on 2 September.
ATVs (which includes quad bikes, and four or six wheeled vehicles with side-by-side seating) and are commonly used in agriculture, forestry, groundskeeping and grounds maintenance environments and are built to travel over rough, uneven or unpaved surfaces.
If you have any questions on any issues raised in the above article, please contact Gary Foggo.